Buffs rally from late deficit, beat Brenau in OT

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Dec. 5, 2020) – Five Buffs tallied double digits in scoring to lead the Milligan University women's basketball team to a thrilling 105-96 overtime victory over Brenau Saturday inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Freshman Jaycie Jenkins led the way with a career high-tying 22 points alongside a career high 16 rebounds.

Milligan trailed by seven, 86-79, with 3:20 to go in regulation before using a 7-0 run to help force overtime, then a 13-2 run to start overtime and help seal the win. In all, Milligan finished the game on a 26-10 run over the last eight and a half minutes of action. The victory moved the Buffs to 3-6 overall (3-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference) on the season.

"Our team executed extremely well down the stretch," said first-year head coach Kylie Russell postgame. "Jumping into our pressure with three minutes left helped us get the game back in control before going into overtime. Also, being able to send Padgett in on fresh legs helped us to pull away."

Second-half comeback fueled by late run

Milligan trailed by as many as nine in the first half and by eight in the second half before turning the corner in a big way late in regulation. Erin Larkin made a big 3-pointer near the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter during Milligan's 7-0 run to cut Brenau's lead to two, then Milligan closed out regulation with five points from the free-throw line. Lily Griffith went 4-for-4 in the final 1:18, making two free throws to tie the game at 86 before making two more to swing a one-point lead with under 41 seconds to go.

Milligan then started overtime with the first six points and ran away with the extra period thanks to scoring from six players. Halie Padgett scored the first and third buckets to lead the way with four points in overtime. Malarie Tallent and Jenkins scored three apiece.

The game featured 10 ties and three lead changes, and in fact did not see Milligan take the lead until Cali Weddle sank a pair of free throws with 2:38 left in the third quarter to put Milligan ahead 64-62. The fourth quarter itself saw five ties and all three of the game's lead changes.

Monster numbers in century-mark win

Three of the five Buffs who scored double digits scored 20 or more. Jenkins tallied her fourth double-double and scored 22 points for the third time. Her 16 rebounds made her the 16th Milligan player with 16 or more rebounds in a game since at least the turn of the century.

Griffith scored 21 alongside a career high 11 rebounds with three assists, marking her first career double-double. Padgett scored 20 alongside nine rebounds. Tallent followed with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Larkin scored 10 points.

Four other Buffs, for a total of nine, entered the scoring column. Hannah Wyrick followed next with nine points and three rebounds.

Jenkins shot 8-for-20 from the floor while Padgett went 8-for-19. Griffith did most of her scoring from the free-throw line, going 12-for-13.

Milligan hit the century mark for the first time since Nov. 28, 2017, when the Buffs topped Columbia at home 104-55. In Saturday's win, the 105 points came from 33-for-84 (39.3%) shooting from the field and 31-for-40 (77.5%) shooting from the free-throw line. The Buffaloes were 8-of-12 from the charity stripe in the final 6:18 of action.

For Brenau

Tyleia Williams led all scorers with 41 points, including 23 in the second half and overtime. She shot 11-for-23 and added a team high nine rebounds. Two other Golden Tigers finished in double digits for scoring. Katherine Fourie scored 19 after a 5-for-12 effort from three, and Michalea Cope scored 10 points and added a team high three assists.

Brenau also shot effectively from the free-throw line, going 23-for-29 (79.3%).

Up next

Milligan plays three times next week starting with Union on Monday, Dec. 7, at home beginning at 5 p.m. The last two games of the semester are scheduled to take place on the road.